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Distribution: Xandros, Mandrake, FreeBSD, i like to tinker.
Posts: 33
Rep:
Remote Server Administration
i have my mandrake 9.2 server running apache, mySQL, proFTP, and SHOUTcast, and i need a good remote admin tool. right now i am using webmin, but a friend told me that it is not a very good way to remote admin a server....... so does anybody have any suggestions? he said to use SSH, but i have no clue how to use that. i need a tool that can give me access to the root console remotely and i would be happy......
use ssh........type ssh <username>@<ipaddress>. For example "ssh ryan@192.168.1.1". This will give you console access that is encrypted both ways (more secure). There are options that you can even forward apps through ssh graphically. I would reccomend that you edit the sshd_conf file and change "PermitRootLogin yes" to "PermitRootLogin no". This is more secure. That way you must login as a user then su to root. Hope this helps
Sorry for not being more specific. You do this from a terminal or console on a linux machine. If you want ssh from a windows computer to a linux computer, you will need an ssh client (ex: Putty). You will need an ssh server running to do this. Most linux distros come with one installed.
What is wrong with Webmin is that it is a huge security problem. Do not ever have it enabled on computers in producation and/or available from the Internet.
With SSH you can do anything you could do if you were sitting at the actual monitor. If you enable X11 forwarding in the server's sshd_config and connect using ssh -X user@host you can SSH to the server from another Linux box and launch graphical apps on the server that will display on your local desktop as if it was running on your own computer.
No, there's really nothing wrong with Webmin besides it being a security problem. But security problems should be treated as such - and disabled, if possible. Yes, you can start webmin through a SSH session, and I also suppose you could allow access to Webmin only to a few select IP's if that's what you wish.
There is really not much to know about using GUI apps via SSH, just type man sshd_config for configuration options on the server side and man ssh for client side stuff.
ssh works great, but I've yet to understand WHY webmin is such a security risk. It uses SSL, requires a password, restricts users and, if access over the internet is a concern, you could always block port 10000 on your firewall, allowing only local (intranet) connections to it. Seems to me all the concerns people have about webmin apply to ssh as well.
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